This invention relates to electrical connectors for terminating wires of a high speed electrical transmission cable, and more particularly to terminating wires at an angle in a minimum clearance space for military electrical transmission systems and other applications.
In many applications of electrical connectors for terminating an electrical cable, the wires are required to be terminated and connected to an associated electrical interface device in a minimum amount of clearance space. This requirement is made more difficult by the necessity to terminate wires at an angle to the direction of a circular cable. This requirement is typical to an application where a cable is running along a wall or bulkhead and the wires are terminated in a connector interface extending through the wall. In particular, the electrical connector must be aligned with the wall so that an associated electrical connector or interface device can be plugged into the connector in a direction normal to the surface of the wall. The associated connector device may also have a generally circular array of terminals.
A number of connector devices are known in the industry for providing termination of wires where the clearance space is not limited; or turning the wires through an angle is not a requirement. Typical connectors are the MIL-C-5015 type firewall connector or the CA Bayonet connector as manufactured by ITT Cannon of Santa Anna, Calif. (see pages 211, 215 and 224 of the 1993-94 ITT Cannon Source Book accompanying the application). These connectors require adequate clearance space from a firewall or bulkhead and generally do not provide for an angle change of the wires. A connector providing for a 90 degree angle change in the direction of the wires is illustrated as Part No. CA 3108 E-B/-01/-F80 on page 225 of the ITT Cannon Source Book. A large clearance space is required for this connector to make the 90 degree angle change, making it unsuitable for many applications.
Previous electrical connectors generally include a housing or body for providing a wiring space to terminate wires of a cable. The housings limit the ability for routing and turning the wires in a minimum clearance space. The attachment of a cable to the housings is further limited in its ability to provide strain relief, shielding and grounding of the cable.
The termination of wires of a cable within a housing or box is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 367,734; 3,951,490; 4,224,485; 4,804,343; and 5,277,617. The U.S. Pat. No. 367,734 patent discloses terminating telegraph cables in an air tight metallic box having a removable back. Wires enter through a nipple and are terminated on binding posts extending through the box. Binding posts are provide so that wires are generally terminated without being turned inside the box.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,951,490 a substation for distributing signals includes a number of ports for cables to enter a housing and terminate on a circuit board. Terminals extend to the exterior of the housing to terminate in coupling ports. In the telephone jack of U.S. Pat. No. 4,224,485, a plurality of wires terminated in a carrier at a right angle from the wires entering an opening of the carrier. The dust cover helps protect the wires, but the wires do not attach to the dust cover. These patents disclose additional connector parts so that wires are not turned to provide an angle change for attachment to the associated connector device.
The 90 degree lamp socket assembly disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,804,343 includes a body having a tubular portion and a connector portion to receive a plurality of wire strands encased within a cable. The lamp socket clips into a panel portion to extend the lamp 90 degrees to the panel portion. Cavities in the body receive wire terminals and additional feed terminals turn the wire strands 90 degrees. A ring portion crimped over a cable seal mechanically connects the cable to the body and a cable lock retains the terminals within the socket body. Grounding in addition to strain relief of these cables is not required.
In the disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 5,277,617 a flat cable is terminated at an angle within a housing section (FIG. 3). Strain relief for the cable is provided by an end walls and a back ridge in combination. The flat cable is resilient and able to make angular changes perpendicular to the plane of the cable with little effort. The same procedure is difficult for circular cables having a bundle of closely spaced wires.
The connection of cables to a housing or box for providing strain relief is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,555,493; 4,585,292; and 4,767,355. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,555,493 a right angle printed circuit board connector includes terminals attached to each lead-in wire having an upstanding leg to provide the 90 degree angle change. A separate terminal is provide for each wire for mounting within a housing. A crimp type connector is used for strain relief and securing a lead-in wire to the terminal of the connector.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,585,292 a shielded connector includes a pair of metal shields forming a housing having a cable exit portion. A shield of a multiconductor cable is dressed over the outside of the cable exit portion and secured thereto by a crimp ring. The outer surfaces of the exit portions can have profiles, serrations and/or grooves to enhance gripping of the cable shield. The connector can be overmolded with an overmolding material. The cable wires enter the shields and terminate without an angle change. A similar connector device for terminating wires straight ahead is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,767,355. A jack adapted for connection to a printed circuit board is disclosed for a modular plug connector having a cord shield terminating contact. A conductive collar electrically engages a ferrule in electrical engagement with the cord shield and extends into a shield-terminating portion of a cavity of the modular plug connector. Each conductor is situated in an aligned relationship with a respective terminal receiving slot.
The prior art does not provide an electrical connector for high-speed electrical transmission cable systems; wherein the connector has a connector backshell with a housing for grounding the cable and terminating wires at an angle in a minimum clearance space. The problem is particularly troublesome for circular cables being terminated within a cylindrical insert.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide for termination of individual wires of a circular cable in a minimum amount of clearance space, while allowing an associated electrical interface device to connect at an angle to the direction of the cable.
Another object of the present invention is to have an electrical connector that provides for terminating a metallic shield portion of a cable for protecting the cable's environment from electromagnetic and radio frequency interferences.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a low-profile electrical connector for installing a cable parallel to a bulkhead and terminating wires of the cable through the bulkhead at a right angle to the plane of the bulkhead.